Stephen Curry (#30) of the Golden State Warriors penetrates in the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, February 22, 2024. /CFP
The Golden State Warriors beat the Los Angeles Lakers 128-110 at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, on Thursday, securing their ninth win of the past 11 games. They remain 10th in the Western Conference, but only half a game behind the purple and gold, who are in ninth place.
Stephen Curry became the unsolved problem for the Lakers' defense in the game, not only with his court-high 32 points and eight assists, but because he made the opponents' defense unable to attend to everything at once. He constantly called for screens from the players guarded by Anthony Davis. If Davis dropped back, Curry shot to kill from downtown; if Davis closed out, the Lakers had no one to protect the rim.
Curry drained six triples out of 13 attempts. Four of those shots were made in the first quarter, in which he got 16 points. As he drew Davis out of the paint, other Warriors began to charge the Lakers' rim by exploiting the vacuum and their size advantage. They matched the opponents in points in the paint at 58 and outperformed them in offensive rebounds 15-10.
Andrew Wiggins (#22) of the Golden State Warriors drives toward the rim in the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, February 22, 2024. /CFP
Usually, the Warriors are considered one of the smallest teams in today's NBA, and the Lakers are the opposite. Nonetheless, without LeBron James, Jarred Vanderbilt, Christian Wood or Cam Reddish, the purple and gold had to guard the opponents in a mismatch in multiple positions after having to switch defensively. Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga and Trayce Jackson-Davis (TJD) all attacked with resolution. Considering that the Warriors kept the ball rolling fast and smart, all three often had shots for easy buckets.
Wiggins went 8-for-14 from the field to score 20 points. Kuminga contributed 12 points and matched Curry with a game-high 25 plus-and-minus. TJD made eight of his 10 field goals (FGs) to add 17 points and four offensive rebounds. Behind their efficient finishing performances were the 32 assists in total delivered by the Warriors.
Anthony Davis (C) of the Los Angeles Lakers penetrates in the game against the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, February 22, 2024. /CFP
Five of those assists came from Klay Thompson, who continued to play off the bench. He missed eight of his nine shots on Thursday night. The last three times that he made no more than one shot this season, the Warriors lost all of those games. What made Thursday's game different was that Thompson was willing to pass to open teammates instead of taking tough shots. Moreover, he worked harder on the defensive end. He had a highlight in the third quarter: tussling with Davis in the low post for Wiggins to block the shot.
Davis was overloaded in Thursday's game as the only trustworthy Laker on both offense and defense. He had a double-double of 27 points and 15 rebounds plus three blocks after shooting 11-for-19 from the field. The Warriors were okay with him shooting open jumpers around the free throw line, but he always paid attention to cutting his connections with his teammates. Davis delivered only one assist but committed three turnovers. The rest of the purple and gold made only 10 3-pointers out of 33 attempts, making it even more difficult for him to display dominance in the paint.
Luka Doncic (#77) of the Dallas Mavericks drives toward the rim in the game against the Phoenix Suns at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, February 22, 2024. /CFP
Other games on Thursday (away teams come first):
Phoenix Suns 113-123 Dallas Mavericks
Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving of the Mavericks beat Kevin Durant and Devin Booker of the Suns in the star duo contest at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Doncic was one rebound from dropping a triple-double that included 41 points and 11 assists after going 14-for-27 in FGs. Irving added 29 points, including 13 in the first period.
The game remained close in the first half, but the Mavericks began the third period with a 15-0 run and maintained a double-digit lead since. Though Booker got 13 of his 35 points in this quarter alone, the Suns never reversed the situation. The team was replaced by the Mavericks in sixth place in the West after the loss.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (R) of the Oklahoma City Thunder shoots in the game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, February 22, 2024. /CFP
Los Angeles Clippers 107-129 Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder extended their lead over the Clippers to 1.5 games in the West's top race after beating them at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on Thursday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made 12 of his 19 shots to score a game-high 31 points and eight assists. He and the other four starters combined to get 11 blocks, limiting the Clippers to going 21-for-48 in the paint.
The Clippers were outscored 68-48 by the opponents in the second half, during which their four stars, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, James Harden and Russell Westbrook, missed a combined 16 of their 24 FG attempts.
Orlando Magic 116-109 Cleveland Cavaliers
Detroit Pistons 115-129 Indiana Pacers
New York Knicks 110-96 Philadelphia 76ers
Brooklyn Nets 93-121 Toronto Raptors
Boston Celtics 129-112 Chicago Bulls
Houston Rockets 105-127 New Orleans Pelicans
Washington Wizards 110-130 Denver Nuggets
Charlotte Hornets 115-107 Utah Jazz
San Antonio Spurs 122-127 Sacramento Kings